Distant Thunder
by Leslie4
Summary: Science meets the Supernatural when the gang moves to Las Vegas. CSI Crossover WNick Part 10 is now up. WIP
1. Default Chapter

A/N: I put the Buffy characters in the CSI world. Willow has some magic ability (S3 ability), Buffy's in law enforcement (Homicide) but still the Slayer (What's my line S2), Giles runs a magic shop, Xander's in construction. There was no Glory hence no Dawn and they moved to Vegas after college.

Part 1

Grissom stood in the doorway and looked around the break room. Warrick and Nick were sitting on the couch playing a game on the room's play station. Sara and Catherine had yet to arrive.

"You think you can drag yourselves away from that game long enough to solve a crime?"

Warrick's man scored the winning touchdown as Nick turned away from the screen to look at Gil. 

"Heh, heh that's ten you owe me." Warrick muttered to Nick.

Gil just raised an eyebrow until Warrick set his console down.

"Whatcha got?"

Before Gil could answer Sara came into the room, "I know...I'm sorry I'm late."

Gil handed Nick his assignment slip. "Body found in a suite at Caesar's. One eyewitness at the scene, take Warrick with you." Gil handed Sara her slip, "Sara, missing person. Car found at the airport."

Gil looked down at his watch, Catherine was supposed to bring the new hire. She was from UCSunnydale and had graduated Summa Cum Laude in Biology. She had done internships at LAPD and had come highly recommended from their crime lab.

"Hey guys!" Catherine said as she entered the room.

Nick looked up, "Hey Catherine, did ya bring your sister to work?"

Catherine just rolled her eyes, "Guys this is Willow."

Gil held out his hand to Willow, "Welcome to Forensics. Gil Grissom, I'm your supervisor on graveyard." 

Willow shook his hand and looked at the others curiously.

Gil turned to see Nick, Warrick and Sara still standing there. "The crimes aren't going to solve themselves people."

"Right." Sara said and waved at Willow as she turned to leave.

Nick made a point to walk by Willow on the way out the door. As he neared Willow he flashed her a smile and a wink. Catherine made a mental note to give Willow a heads up about Nick's tendency to flirt.

"Hey." Warrick muttered a greeting to Willow as he followed Nick out of the room.

Gil handed Catherine her assignment slip, "Pawn shop robbery, just off the strip."

Catherine turned to Willow but before she could say anything Grissom interrupted, "You're on your own on that one. I have an autopsy and Willow's with me."

"Okay. See ya later, Willow."

"So, You did your internship with Tom at LAPD?" Willow nodded. "Ever see an autopsy, Willow?"

"No, Sir."

"Call me Grissom or Gil we're not formal around here." Gil looked into Willow's eyes and his lips quirked. "Okay, off the record...Did Tom let you sit in on an autopsy?"

Willow returned the favor and looked into Gil's eyes. Finally coming to a decision she smiled, "Yeah, a couple of times. Since my degree is in Biology we saw cadavers of course but never an actual autopsy."

Gil nodded and motioned for Willow to follow him, "So what brings a UCSunnydale graduate and LAPD intern to Las Vegas?"

Willow didn't think increase in demon activity would be the appropriate answer and to tell the truth it was only part of it. So, she gave the other part of the answer. "I wanted to work in the number two crime lab in the country."

"You could have probably worked in the number one crime lab in the country with your grades."

Willow smiled over at him, "I wanted to be part of the team that takes a number two crime lab and makes it number one."

Gil opened the door to the forensic autopsy room, "Good answer." 

Dr. Robbins turned as Gil opened the door, "Hey, it's definitely homicide."

"Willow, Dr. Alfred Robbins."

Willow nodded in greeting and followed Gil to the table. "So Albert what'd you find?"

"He didn't shoot himself."

Gil turned to Willow, "Do you know why that is?" He wanted to see how much Willow knew.

Willow leaned down to examine the body, "May I?" Willow reached for a pair of gloves.

"Sure." Alfred answered and winked at Gil over Willow's bent head.

Willow probed the wound just a little. "The wound's too big. He was probably shot from six to seven feet away. It's like someone stood over him and shot."

Alfred's eyes widened. It was very rare that a rookie knew that just by looking. "You're right." Alfred stood over the body and held his hands out like he was holding a gun. "BAM. Criminal homicide."

The doctor picks up the saw to cut a Y section. "Now lets see what we have inside." He watched Willow through his lashes. This was where the rookies lost it.

Willow stood next to Gil waiting patiently while the doctor began cutting the body. Albert was impressed when Willow didn't even flinch but watched in avid fascination like Grissom.

The sound of a beeper could barely be heard over the sound of the saw. Gil looked down at his but it was silent. Willow looked down at hers and saw Giles number flash.

Willow turned off her beeper and turned to Gil, "Is it okay if I take this? I shouldn't be long."

"Sure, go ahead we're just getting started here."

The doctor was just cracking the ribs when Willow turned to leave.

"She's cute." Alfred said with a smile.

~~~~

Willow quickly made her way down the corridor until she found a phone she could use.

"Hey Giles, what's up?"

"Nothing apocalyptic but something has been stolen."

"What?! From your shop? Did you call it in yet? Maybe I can get assigned to it."

"No, not from my shop and yes it was called in. My friend Benjamin went to Joker's Wild Pawn shop to get an old family heirloom back and it seems the shop was robbed."

"And the heirloom was one of the things missing. Please don't tell me it opened portals to hell or something like that."

"No it doesn't open portals but it is a key ingredient for a spell. It's used to suck the life force out of the victim and in turn prolong the wearer's life."

"And he pawned it?!?!"

"Yes, well, it's not a well known fact what this does a-and he's got a gambling problem. He needed some quick cash. Xander and I are looking into it but I was hoping you might get assigned to the case or if not at least be on the look out for it."

"Right." Willow mumbled remembering that Catherine was assigned a pawnshop robbery. "I think I might know who has the case. I'll let you know what I can find out."

Willow hung up and sighed. Why couldn't her first day on the job be a normal first day?

Gil looked up as Willow came back into the autopsy room, "Everything okay?"

"Yep, sorry about that."

"No problem, you're just in time for the fun stuff."

Albert rolled his eyes as he drew out the heart.


	2. Part 2

Part 2

Grissom turned to Willow as they pulled up to the crime scene, "My first homicide, pregnant wife found her husband cheating on her."

"That sounds pretty cut and dry."

"You'd think so, but the murder weapon was a frozen leg of lamb and it was committed by the neighbor. Always follow the evidence trail no matter where it might lead."

Gil raised the crime scene tape so that he and Willow could go under it. Willow noticed a blonde head in among the group of police standing and waiting. A smile began to spread when she realized that Buffy had been assigned to this case. 

With the hellmouth closed in Sunnydale they were able to take jobs and still fight the forces of darkness. Buffy had excelled at the police academy and had her pick of where she could go. Giles learned that the demonic activity was on the increase in Las Vegas and they all agreed that it would be an ideal location. Close enough to Los Angeles if Angel needed help and a large enough city that their activities hopefully would go unnoticed. 

Brass broke away as he saw Grissom slide under the crime scene tape, "You're not gonna believe this one."

"Jim Brass this is Willow Rosenberg, newest recruit."

Brass nodded, "Must be the night for new recruits. Got one on my team, too." Brass pointed over to where Buffy was now interviewing a witness. "A hot shot new recruit from California. You should see her on the weapons range. She's amazing."

Willow bit the inside of her mouth to keep from smiling at the sound of pride and envy in Brass' voice.

Brass motioned for Gil and Willow to follow him. "Neighbor grew concerned when she heard shouting, a flash of bright light and then a pop. She called the police and that's when we found this."  

Gil knelt down next to the body while he pulled on his gloves. He reached in and pulled out the victim's wallet. His eyes widen slightly and he turned to look over his shoulder at Brass.

Brass' lips quirked with a smile, "Exactly. That's why I said you're not gonna believe this."

Grissom handed Willow the wallet after her gloves were in place. Willow looked at the driver's license and then down at the victim. "I thought Progeria only occurred in children."

"It does. See here?" Gil pointed to the victim's face. "He doesn't have the pinched nose or small face."

"Another DNA mutation?" Willow asked as her mind grappled with the wrinkled white haired twenty five year old that was laying in front of her. If he had been mummified she might have casually asked if there was a mummy exhibit touring.

Gil looked at Willow, "Let's see where the evidence lies? Dust for fingerprints and see if you can find out what caused the flash of light and pop the neighbor described."

Brass pointed to Buffy who had finished talking to an onlooker. "Let me get the rookie. She took the neighbor's statement."

Brass yelled, "Summers!"

Buffy looked over as Brass yelled her name and saw him motion her over. She smiled when she saw the flash of red hair. She thought she had seen Willow when the criminalistics came on scene but she hadn't gotten a good look. Buffy made her way to where Brass was waiting.

"Buffy Summers, this is Gil Grissom, CSI."

Buffy smiled briefly in acknowledgment. 

"I understand you took the neighbor's statement."

"Yes, sir." 

"Did she describe the flash of light?"

Buffy pulled open her casebook and read her notes, "Neighbor stated that at 0200 she heard muffled yelling. She went to the window to investigate where she saw two silhouettes through the neighbor's window and she stated they appeared to be arguing."

Grissom looked at the window and then back to the position of the body. "Go on."

Buffy continued, "Neighbor then states that a weird red glow filled the victim's room. That was when she heard a pop. She states that when the glow faded there were no longer silhouettes in the window. That was when she called 911."

"A weird red glow?"

Buffy looked down at her notes, "Yes sir. Those are her words."

Brass chuckled, "Maybe little green men from Roswell came up and abducted the young Mr. Mitchell and left his aging clone."

"Did she describe the other silhouette? Was it shorter, taller, male, female?"

Buffy nodded, "The shouting voices were male and she states the shadows were about the same height."

"Thanks, Summers. Why don't you take a break?"

Buffy nodded and made her way over to where Willow was dusting for prints.

"Hey, Wills. I didn't think I'd see you on my first case."

Willow smiled at Buffy, "What are the odds huh?" Willow lowered her voice, "Any slayer wiggins at the scene?"

Buffy shook her head no, "Just slight wiggins but nothing to call Giles about. You don't think another Ampata type do you?"

Willow glanced over her shoulder at Grissom as he examined the body. "Definitely something to ask Giles about. I mean what are the odds of a twenty something male looking like he is in his eighties? Did the witness describe the popping sound?"

"Yeah, she said it sounded like those cops shows where they use silencers."

Willow looked at the window facing the street to where the body lay to the nearby walls. "Did the officer on the scene see any bullet casings to indicate there were shots fired?"

"Nope, bullet free zone and I didn't notice anything out of the ordinary when I arrived except you know the oddness of the victim."

Something caught Willow's eye as she walked around the crime scene. She turned to Buffy, "Do you know if the electricity was off or if the victim was expecting anyone romantically?"

Buffy's eyebrows raised but before she could answer Willow, Grissom interrupted their conversation. "What'd you find, Willow?"

Willow pointed to some burnt candles. "They're not utility candles and I don't see a romantic setting. I was just wondering why there were burnt candles."

Grissom indicated for the photographer to take a picture of the candles, "Everything is a clue until it's ruled out."

Buffy leaned into Willow and whispered, "Spellcasting?"

Willow picked up the candle and sniffed, "Sage, it can be used in cleansing rituals. See if the victim was into magick."


	3. Part 3

Part 3

Willow followed Grissom back into the break room for end of shift paperwork. God she couldn't wait to get to sleep and then talk to Giles about the body. There had to be something supernatural about a young man looking old.

Lorne had told them about his experience in Vegas when he first learned that Buffy and Willow were moving there. The whole time growing up she just assumed that Sunnydale was the only place these demonic things happened. I mean she hadn't heard about all the stuff that Angel battled in LA. How did these big cities keep the weird stuff out of the news?

"So are you thinking of coming back tomorrow?" Gil asked with a slight smile.

Willow grinned at him, "Wouldn't miss it."

"Oh good, Gil didn't scare you off." Catherine said with a smile as she caught up with them in the hallways.

"Nope it's been a very interesting first day."

"So I hear." Sara smiled when she joined up. "So any theories as to how a twenty five year old aged so much?"

Willow gave her a slight smile, "Not that I'm willing to admit to yet."

"God, Grissom you've only had her for one night and she already sounds like you." Catherine smiled at Gil.

"Who had who and why do I always miss the good stuff?" Greg asked from the lab doorway and Nick chuckled as he and Warrick joined the others.

Grissom just raised his eyebrow and looked at Greg.

Greg grinned and went back into the lab. "I'm going."

Nick flashed Willow a smile, "So, Willow...are you gonna join us for the traditional rookie breakfast?"

Warrick smiled as he looked down and shook his head.

"Yep. It's tradition that we welcome the new rookie by taking them out to breakfast." Nick continued.

Willow looked at the smiling faces and then concentrated on Nick's. "Let me guess...the rookie gets stuck with the check."

Sara started to laugh at Nick's mock shocked expression. 

"Willow, Willow, Willow. I'm shocked and hurt that you would think so little of us." Nick shook his head and sighed.

Willow grinned, "Well, actually...It's just you I think would make me pay."

"That's just cold." Nick said with a smile.

Warrick laughed. "Ouch. Score for Willow."

"Think she's got your number, Nicky." Gil said as he patted him on his back. "Come on. Let's have that breakfast. It's on Nick."

Nick smiled, shook his head and mumbled.

~~~~

Giles looked up from the counter as the bell over the shop's door tinkled. He smiled when he saw Willow enter just in front of Buffy.

"You're here early. I wasn't expecting you until later, Willow."

Willow shrugged. "Figured I could help out here while you and Buffy do your training in the back."

Buffy rolled her eyes, "Not to mention Miss Criminalistic wants to get a head start on researching."

Giles' brow wrinkled. "I didn't think you were assigned to the robbery."

"I wasn't. Found an interesting body last night or rather early this morning."

Giles went into Watcher mode, "You, you think there may be supernatural causes?"

Buffy nodded, "It was definitely tingle worthy just not Slayer wiggins worthy."

Willow took pity on Giles at his look of confusion. "Buffy was assigned the case as well. She got slight wiggins at the scene but something is definitely up. There's not a mummy exhibit touring around Vegas is there?"

"Good Lord! Was the body mummified?"

"Nope just aged. A LOT. At least his outsides were. The autopsy hasn't been performed yet. Oh and I talked to the person assigned to the pawnshop. The necklace that you described wasn't listed as missing. Are you sure it was the Joker's Wild Pawnshop?"

Giles rubbed his forehead, "Yes, Benjamin was very distraught. He repeated the name of the shop two or three times."

Willow looked over at Buffy, "You don't think that someone at the pawnshop took the necklace and the robbery was just a coincidence do you?"

Buffy shrugged, "Don't know. I guess I could check the report the person assigned to the robbery did. I'll have to be careful. It's not connected to any of the homicide cases I'm working on and as a rookie I doubt robbery will just let me read their reports."

"Since when has that ever stopped you before?"

Buffy smiled, "It hasn't, I said I had to be careful not that I couldn't do it."

Willow turned to Giles, "Did Benjamin tell anyone that he was pawning it? I mean maybe someone else went to the shop and got it before he could reclaim it."

Giles nodded, "I don't know I'll ask him. I'd like to think he has more sense than that but sometimes he's too trusting."

The sound of the bell interrupted their conversation as some customers entered the shop. Willow motioned for Giles and Buffy to go ahead into the back and that she'd take care of the customers.

"Hi, can I help you?"

"Do you have skink root and essence of rose thorn?"

Willow rolled her eyes as she turned from the customer. Since coming to Vegas Giles must have sold about a thousand ingredients for love potions. That and good luck charms. It was very rare a real practicing Wiccan came into the store.

Willow got the ingredients the ladies were looking for and rang them up. "Come again."

Xander held open the door for the departing ladies as he was coming into the store. 

Willow smiled as the women all gave Xander's butt a quick look as they walked by. "Hey Xander. If any of those ladies offer you a drink politely decline."

Xander groaned as he sat down, "Don't tell me...love potions."

"Giles' best seller. You okay?"

"Yeah. Just a tough day on the site yesterday. Who knew owning a construction business would have so much paperwork and you know business type stuff to do?"

"Is your brain too fried to help with research?"

Xander looked at her through his lashes, "If I said yes would it get me out of it?"

Willow smiled, "Nope, I'd just give you the books with more pictures than words."

"Thought so. So, in Vegas a few weeks and already we have a big bad to defeat? I think it's a world's record."

"Nope, at least I don't think so. Anyway my case last night was strange and I want to rule out supernatural or at least know what it might be. It's not like I can go to my supervisor and say hey guess what you know that body we found this morning well it appears it's related to demonic activity that is rampant in Vegas."

"I'd love to be there when you tell Mr. Science that."


	4. Part 4

Part 4

Willow wearily closed yet another book that didn't have a cause for an aging body. She rose from the chair and turned to stretch her aching muscles.

"Holy poop!"

Xander blinked at Willow's interruption, "What? What's wrong?!" 

Willow looked from the clock to her watch, "Is that the time?"

He opened his eyes wide and looked at Willow like she was insane, "Yes? Why?"

"I gotta go, my shift starts soon." Willow said while she gathered her belongings. "Tell Giles I'll call as soon as I hear about the autopsy. Hopefully this won't be supernaturally related."

Xander shuddered at the thought of cutting into dead bodies and grabbed another book. "And what are the odds of this being normal?" 

~~~~

Nick sat at the computer waiting for the fingerprints he lifted from the scene to match. He had drawn the short straw so here he was sitting in the lab while Warrick was interviewing the employees of Caesar's that last had contact with the victim. He had been a high roller and stayed in a comp room. He hated this part, the waiting for the computer to do its job. He'd much rather be DOING something.

The click of the lab door broke his wandering thoughts and a bright smile spread across his face as he saw it was the rookie, Willow.

"Hey. You draw the short straw, too?" Nick asked with a smile.

"And here I thought it was a rookie thing that Grissom put me on the database detail."  Willow smiled back as she reached to turn on the other open computer. 

"Oh it is, if a rookie is here otherwise the short straw gets it. Have you got the autopsy report on that weird victim yet?"

"Not yet. I think Grissom went to put a priority on it."

A soft beep sounded from Nick's computer and he spun around, "I'll be damned."

Willow got up to look over his shoulder, "Match?"

Printed on the computer screen is 'Print Match: James Mitchell'.

Nononononono. Willow silently cursed the fates. Maybe it was a different James Mitchell. Really, there had to be at least dozens of James Mitchells in the Vegas area, probably hundreds visiting.

Willow went over to her computer and pulled out a slide, "Ummm, could you run this against what you just found?"

Nick raised an eyebrow, "Gonna tell me why?"

"Nope, rather not until I see the outcome."

Nick turned back around and slid the specimen in the scanner and let the program compare the two sets of scans.

The computer beeped and on the screen was, 'Print match: 99.8%'.

Willow sighed and hung her head. Really what were the odds? Now not only did she have to worry about her case being supernaturally connected but she also had Catherine's pawnshop robbery and now it seemed Nick and Warrick's homicide. The icing on the cake would be Sara's MIA at the airport.

Nick swiveled in his chair and looked at Willow with his arms crossed waiting.

"Well?"

"Well from the comparison you just ran I'd have to say that my young-old victim was in your victim's comp room at some point."

Before Nick could comment Greg stuck his head in the room, "Willow? Grissom's looking for you. He wants you down at the autopsy room."

Willow looked back at her own computer comparison running and Nick motioned her to go, "Go on, I'll watch it for you since its kind of part of my case now, too."

Greg smirked at Nick who was ignoring him. Willow smiled her thanks as she followed Greg out of the room.

"Need me to show you how to get there?" Greg asked when he noticed the lost look on Willow's face.

She wrinkled her nose at him, "I kinda wasn't paying attention when I went down there yesterday. Too nervous."

Greg held out his arm for her to take, "It'll be my pleasure to escort such a lovely young woman."

"Cut the crap, Greg." Sara said from the doorway. "Don't you have my DNA to run?"

Greg let go of Willow's arm and winked, "I'm in such demand from the pretty ladies." He put extra swagger in his walk as he turned to go back to the lab.

Sara rolled her eyes and turned back to Willow, "Need help finding the autopsy room?" 

 "Probably not a good thing to admit that I didn't pay attention yesterday."

Sara smiled, "Don't worry, my first day on the job out of the academy I was so determined to prove to the guys that I could do anything. I wouldn't admit I didn't know where the ballistics room was. I ended up being ten minutes late for a meeting. Haven't been able to live that down yet. Still have a reputation for being late."

She pointed down the hallway, "It's just down this hallway to the end, make a right and the second hallway on your left leads right to it. If this is your homicide from last night let me know what you find out. It's been bugging me how a seemingly healthy young male could age so much on the outside."

"S-sure. Well, thanks."

Willow quickly made her way to the forensics' autopsy room. Dr. Robbins smiled as Willow grabbed gloves and made her way over to where he and Grissom were standing.

"Greg said you wanted to see me?"

"I thought you should be here for this. Alfred why don't you tell Willow what you just told me?"

"If I didn't know any better I would have to conclude that all forensic evidence points to James Mitchell being in his early to mid seventies."

Willow's eyes widened. "Bone density, teeth and DNA?"

Gil gave a small smile while Alfred openly smiled at Gil, "I like her. Not only cute but smart too." He turned back to Willow, "I checked the teeth and the bone density. It matches that of an older man. The DNA sample is being matched with hair fibers found at the scene to determine if this is indeed James Mitchell and not an older relative."

Willow's mind was racing with about a million questions and ninety percent of those questions dealt with hellmouth-y stuff. "S-so, any idea why this guy's aging process sped up?"

Alfred cleared his throat, "Well actually I was thinking of doing research on that if the DNA matched. I'm unofficially ruling it natural causes until I can research it further. But I don't know of any way you can artificially age a person to cause their death."

"Genetic scientists are making progress on isolating specific genes. I have a friend that works in a genetic thinktank maybe I'll give him a call and see if he's heard anything about this. I'm sure he'd be interested anyway." Gil said as he motioned for Willow to follow him. "Thanks, Alfred. I'll let you know what I find out."


	5. Part 5

Part 5

Willow followed Grissom down the corridor back towards the lab and his office.  Her mind was whirling with all the information that she'd just received. She prayed to every deity that she could think of that Grissom's friend in the thinktank would come up with a reason for James Mitchell to have aged.  Even if it turned out Hellmouth-y in the end Willow wanted a scientific explanation so she wouldn't have to let Grissom and the others know there was a supernatural side to Las Vegas.  Or if they already knew about the demon side, not to let them know about her friends and their involvement with it.  That's not a secret you tell unless you absolutely have to.  Willow didn't think that Buffy would have told Riley about it if they hadn't met while trying to defeat the Gentlemen. She knew she wouldn't have told Tara about it.

Tara.  Her heart clinched at the thought of Tara.  They had just begun exploring their new relationship when a werewolf had attacked her.  At first Willow had thought it was Oz but it turned out that Oz had been in Tibet at the time. She still, after all these years, felt guilt over Tara's death.  Tara had been coming to see her about a spell that she thought would defeat that week's big bad.  If Tara hadn't known about Willow's involvement with the Slayer she wouldn't have become involved either and she might still be alive.  Her death had been one of the reasons Willow had switched majors from computers to Biology.  Sure she'd always been a science geek and had actually tried to be a doctor when she and Xander played doctor as kids but Tara's death and being a first hand witness to what Crime Lab Forensics did as they investigated a suspicious death had peeked her interest and she'd never looked back.

Gil's voice brought her out of her thoughts.  "I'll be in my office if you find a match for the prints."

Crap.  She'd forgotten about that with everything else on her mind.  "I almost forgot.  Nick found a match on a set of prints in his vic's comp room.  It was James Mitchell."

Gil stopped in the doorway to his office and turned back to look at Willow.  "James Mitchell?"

"Yep.  It looks like the threads are spreading wider."

"Or growing tighter.  See if you can find out what connections James Mitchell had with Charles Evanovich."

Willow nodded her response.  Maybe Buffy could shed light on any connections if they existed beyond casual acquaintance.  If the coroner ruled James Mitchell's death natural (or supernatural) causes Buffy would no longer be assigned to it.  There were too many homicides in the Vegas area to waste taxpayers' money on a case that didn't look suspicious.  But she'd have access to other's reports and maybe can do some digging. A slight smile graced her features at the thought of Buffy doing research for her. She'd have to tease her and start calling her research girl.

Willow heard Warrick and Nick's voices in the break room so she headed that way instead of the lab.

"Sara, you can't be serious."  Warrick gave a slight smile as he shook his head. 

"What? Is this like that case where you thought the old lady died from spontaneous combustion?  Are you saying that James Mitchell spontaneously aged?"  Nick couldn't keep the laughter from his voice.

"Real funny, Nick."  Sara rolled her eyes, "I'm just saying that it looks suspicious and aren't you the least bit curious as to why someone young seemingly looked old?  Rumor has it that the bone density and teeth are those of an old man."

Nick glanced over at Willow as she entered the room and winked before he turned back to Sara.  "I can see it now, Sara Sidle discovers spontaneous aging really exists. Of course that's probably the headlines across the National Enquirer instead of the AMA Medical Journal but hey it's headlines right?" Nick couldn't contain his laughter any longer.

Willow warily came further into the room and considered Sara. She had a look of determination on her face that Willow recognized all too well.  With a sinking heart Willow realized that Sara wore her 'Resolve Face' and probably wouldn't let this drop. She wouldn't be close to the case since it wasn't assigned to her but Willow didn't doubt that Sara would keep abreast to what happened.

With a twinkle in his eye Warrick asked Willow, "So what's your theory concerning the spontaneous aging victim?"

"Grissom's checking with a friend of his that works for a genetic thinktank but other than that I couldn't tell you what happened.  Dr. Robbins is thinking of doing more research."

"See!" Sara interrupted, "Both Gris and Alfred think something's suspicious."

"I wouldn't go that far, Sara.  Sounds like Gris is just calling in an expert and Alfred hasn't seen something like this before so he's researching." Warrick said with a smile.

"Yeah, yeah you keep telling yourself that Warrick.  Remember those cases where the victims died of blood loss. I seem to recall Nick mentioning something about 'The Lost Boys' and vampires.  If memory serves you and Nick even went so far as to go to a Vampire rave where kids wanted to become vampires."

Warrick's grin grew to a broad smile.  "Yeah, I seem to be stuck with partners that think that urban legends are a reality.  First you with the spontaneous combustion theory and then Nick with his Vampires.  Though I think I remember there was this kid at the Rave that even went so far as to have gone to a dentist to get some of his teeth ground to a point. Any vampire raves in LA, Willow?"  

"Oh you'd be surprised at the number of places that claimed to be 'demon bars'."  She had learned long ago to stick as close to the truth as possible when telling others about the exciting nightlife in LA.  Hoping to change the subject Willow turned to Nick, "Did my slides get a match while I was in the autopsy room?"

Sara grinned and realized she now had ammunition with which to tease Nick more. She loved the look he'd had on his face when she and Warrick were talking about his vampire case. He'd STILL hadn't lived that one down.  "Gee, Nick if I'd known that you'd do lab work for others I'd have had you do the fiber sample that I brought in from my MIA. Or is it only pretty redheads that you do that for?"

Nick noticed that Willow's cheeks turned a becoming pink and filed the information away for later that Willow looked even cuter when she blushed. "Why? Thinking of dyeing your hair red if I said yes?" He waggled his eyebrows at Sara. 

Willow smiled at Sara and Nick's teasing, they reminded her of Buffy, Xander and herself on a patrol night. They still got together and patrolled on their nights off. Since there wasn't a Hellmouth in Vegas the vamps weren't as prevalent here as they were in Sunnydale.  Vegas reminded Willow of LA where demons cashed in on the humans' vices instead of trying to make the world hell on earth…literally.

He turned back to Willow, "Sorry, the computer came up empty… but Warrick did happen to get a statement from one of the hotel's employees.  I called him after the computer came up with the Mitchell match and it seems the young Mr. Mitchell was befriended by our Charles Evanovich his last night."

"How did Evanovich die?" Sara asked as she processed this new development in the aging case.

"Well not by spontaneous aging," Warrick said with a smile. "He took a bullet to the head."

"What type of weapon?"

"We found casings from a berretta. We're checking to see if Mitchell owned one."

Catherine stuck her head in the break room, "Oh good, I was looking for you guys. Warrick, did you guys find a pawn ticket or a receipt from Joker's Wild in the vic's room or on him?"

"No, why?"

"Seems Charles Evanovich was a regular customer at the Pawn Shop. I was looking through the owner's database and there he was."

"Was James Mitchell in the database?" Willow asked Catherine and hoped the answer was no.

"Nope but a Benjamin McKim was a frequent customer. We're looking for him now to ask him some questions."

Before Willow could ask anything Grissom came hurrying down the hallway. "Come on, we've got another one. Another victim's been found like Mitchell."

Willow made a mental note to call Giles at the first opportunity.


	6. Part 6

Part 6 

Willow grabbed her kit from the car and with dread followed Grissom into the vic's house. Living on the Hellmouth and in LA taught you that there was no such thing as coincidences and definitely no such thing as supernatural coincidences.

Katherine had mentioned that Benjamin McKim had been a frequent visitor to Joker's Wild Pawn shop and she just KNEW with her luck that Benjamin McKim was Giles' friend Benjamin that had pawned the missing necklace.

The necklace!  God, her brain finally clicked into gear, how could she have been so stupid?   The conversation with Giles came clearly into her mind as she thought about the missing heirloom.  

{"And the heirloom was one of the things missing. Please don't tell me it opened portals to hell or something like that."

"No it doesn't open portals but it is a key ingredient for a spell. It's used to suck the life force out of the victim and in turn prolong the wearer's life."}

Crap, crap, crap, crap, crap.  

"You okay, Willow?" Grissom asked as he turned to see her lost in thought.

Willow plastered a smile on her face and nodded, "Sorry, I was trying to picture the Mitchell crime scene."

"That's good, but don't forget that each crime scene is unique even if they are seemingly connected.  Don't make the mistake of coming into one with preconceived ideas, you might miss something important."

Willow took the mild reprimand with a slight nod, she'd rather be thought of as an over-eager achiever than tell him what was really on her mind.

The officer on the scene opened the front door for them.

"What do we have?" Grissom asked as he stepped over the threshold.

"Two vics. One vic shot, body in the kitchen by the back door and the other…" the officer pointed in toward the den.

"Why don't you take the one in the kitchen and I'll take this one."

Willow nodded and headed toward the kitchen. She knew Grissom would take the aging one which was all right with her since she suspected her theory on the spontaneous aging would prove correct.  Her mind was racing as she carefully stepped through the crime scene.  Why bother shooting when the necklace grabbed life's essence and prolonged the wearer's life? If it were her, she would suck all the life that she could and not waste it with a bullet.

Time to find out the five most important questions at a scene, who, what, why, where, how?
    
    Willow smiled at the officer that was stationed by the kitchen. "Anyone touch anything in here?"
    
    "No, ma'am. When we received the call Officer Baker and I searched the house being careful not to touch anything."
    
    "Where you the one to discover this one?"
    
    The young officer nodded, "I thought I heard a noise in here and came to investigate.  That's when I noticed the stool turned on its side and the foot.  I left to inform Officer Baker."

Willow smiled, "Could you show me exactly how you entered the room and where you stepped?  Its to rule out any footprints or fingerprints I might find as yours."

With a look of concentration Officer Carter re-enacted his discovery of the victim for Willow. Willow watched his movements and interrupted him, "Did you ever find out what made the noise?"

Officer Carter nodded and pointed to the kitchen window. "The shade at the window was banging in the wind." His eyes widened as he noticed the window was now shut but the shade was where it had been.  "I swear I didn't close it, ma'am. It was open when I left to get Officer Baker and no one's been in here."

"Thanks." Willow smiled and set her kit on the island table.  She grabbed gloves and a camera before beginning her investigation. Her first step was to examine the body so it could be released to the coroner.  

~~~~

Gil knelt down next to the aged body and took swabs. He hadn't heard back from his friend but Gil didn't believe in coincidences. If this was a genetic anomaly the odds that there were two of them in such a short time and in such a small geographical area were probably a million to one. 

He needed to take his own advice about following the evidence, the only truth. He thought back to what one of his professor's had told him, "Eliminate all theories and whatever is left no matter how improbable is your answer." 

The victim's skin was paper thin, almost like a dried husk.  Gil carefully removed a thin layer of skin that was beginning to flake and placed it in an evidence envelope.  It looked like the victim had not only aged but had dried out as well. This one was a little different from the Mitchell case.  

Gil looked over his shoulder at the officer standing in the entryway. "What do we know about the victim?"

"His name is Geoff Daisani, approximately seventy-one years of age. He's retired but used to own an occult store. Family called it in when they couldn't reach him. They live in Maine. Brass told us to hold off notifying the family until a positive ID could be made."

"Do we know who the other victim is?"

"No, sir. As soon as we checked the pulse and verified that there wasn't one we called it in to dispatch.  We didn't want to touch anything."

Gil contemplated the officer knowing that very few policemen understood the importance of keeping a crime scene pure.  He was sure some of the prints found would belong to the officers on the scene.

Gil took a few pictures of the body and the surrounding area before turning to Officer Baker. "He's good to go."

He carefully made his way into the kitchen to check on Willow's progress.  "What do you have?"

"Gunshot wound to the chest, point blank range."  Willow pointed out the wounds on the body. "Haven't found the spent shells but I've marked the couple of bullet holes in the cabinet. I just finished up with the body and thought I'd dust for prints on the window.  Officer Carter stated that the window was open and the shade banging in the wind is what caused him to enter the kitchen."

Gil looked at the closed window, "He close the window?"

"He says he didn't. He said that when he noticed the overturned stool and the foot by the island he checked for a pulse.  He says he notified Officer Baker right away and that no one entered the kitchen. Of course that doesn't rule out that someone closed it from the outside."

"You seem to have everything under control. I'll leave you to finish up."

"Grissom?"  
  


"Yeah?"

"The other body, was it the same as Mitchell's?"

"The victim aged beyond his years but the body was very dry. Like the moisture had been taken out of his skin."

"Mummified?"

"No, more like the body was very old.  Past the century mark."


	7. Part 7

Part 7

After what seemed like hours of looking into the microscope, Nick stretched the tired muscles in his neck. He'd only agreed to do the lab work on the off chance he might meet up with Willow again. As he was a higher level than Warrick he could easily pull rank and make him do the grunt work.

A small smile quirked his lips as he thought about the redheaded rookie that had recently joined their team.  He hadn't really gotten to know her as well as he'd like to, but he expected that to change. They were a cohesive team now and he hoped he and the others were easing any awkward feelings that Willow might have. 

As if his thoughts had come to life, Nick watched Willow as she walked through the lab's double doors and gave him a cheery wave before turning toward Greg.

Greg was lightly pounding out a rhythm on the desk as he waited for the computer to spit out the results that Sara needed for her case.  Lazily humming a tune he didn't notice Willow until she lightly cleared her throat to get his attention. "Hey, beautiful. Finally ready to dump the old man and spend time with me?"

Nick grinned and shook his head at Greg's lame attempt of flirtation with Willow and the grin broadened to a huge smile as he saw that Grissom had entered through the other doors behind Greg.

"Actually the OLD MAN wanted to spend time with you."

Greg closed his eyes and grimaced.  Why did Gris always catch him and make him feel like he was two years old?

Willow smiled sympathetically at Greg and handed him her evidence bags for study before turning her attention to Nick.

"Hi." Nick greeted her with a smile. "How's the spontaneous aging case coming along?"

"Oh I had a run of the mill gunshot wound this time."

Nick wrinkled his brow in confusion, "I thought Grissom said that you had an identical case before you left earlier."

Willow grinned at him, "GRISSOM did have an identical case but mine, however, was the second victim which was the gunshot wound."

"So, only one of the victims had the aging? Signs of a struggle with the gunshot victim?"

"No signs of forced entry. According to the officer one of the windows had been open but when we arrived on the scene the window was closed. I'm not sure if that was the entry point or not, I did take some pictures and samples around the window and surrounding area. 'Never rule anything out no matter how improbable'."

"Sounds like something Grissom would say." Nick glanced around the lab and breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that Gil and Greg were still deep in discussion. He didn't need any witnesses to his potential failure.  "I'm finished here, want to grab a bite to eat?"

"Sure, let me just get cleaned up." Willow smiled over her shoulder as she made her way back to the women's locker room.  She wondered if it was normal to always get together after shift and eat or if they were just doing it to make her feel more welcome.

Either way it was nice.

"Ready to eat?" Willow asked as she met Nick in the hallway.

"Always." 

"So are the others meeting us there?"

"Just us."

Willow's heart jumped into her throat at Nick's words. Was this a date? She looked over at him through her lashes. Nah, get a grip, Rosenberg. This was a co-worker just being nice to the new guy. The others were probably busy and he got stuck with the short end of the straw to be nice to the rookie.

"Umm, we don't have to eat if you don't want to. I mean I'm sure you've got other plans and I won't mind, honest.  You guys have made me feel welcome already."

Nick stopped beside his car and placed his hand softly on Willow's elbow. "Willow, I didn't ask the others if they wanted to come. This isn't a be nice to rookie breakfast, this is me wanting to get to know you better."

Her eyes widened and her face flushed a light pink. All that came out was a squeak of "Oh." Willow cleared her throat, took a calming breath and began again, "So, where are we eating? Same place as yesterday?"

"Nope, thought I'd take you someplace different."

~~~~

"This is great." Willow looked out of the bank of windows that gave an expansive view of the desert in the early morning light. 

"I'm glad you like it. So, how what made you want to get into Criminalistics?"

Willow relaxed, this she could handle. No questions about her life outside of work.

"Someone very close to me was killed and when the Crime Scene Investigators came I was captivated by everything they did. I wanted others to have closure like I had. I decided I wanted to be the one that found the answers for the victim's family and friends. What about you?"

"My parents are lawyers. Dad's on the Texas Supreme court now and mom's still a public defender. It was sort of expected of all of us to go into law enforcement of some kind.  I'd always been a science geek so Criminalistics was a great way to compromise. Do something I love and still remain within tradition."

"How'd you come to Las Vegas from Texas?"

Nick gave her a lopsided smile, "I wanted to make it on my own. When I was at Rice, we played UNLV and I fell in love with Vegas. What about you? Why Vegas?"

Willow smiled at the reaction she would have gotten if she told him the truth. "Honest? I'd heard Grissom give a lecture at UCLA and when an opportunity to come to Vegas came up I jumped at the chance. Of course my best friend getting accepted into the Homicide division here didn't hurt."

"Who's your friend?"

"Buffy Summers."

"Buffy? You're friends with Buffy?" A wide smile split Nick's face. 

Willow sighed, another one falls under the charming spell of Buffy. "You know Buffy?"

"Not officially but Warrick hasn't shut up about her since she appeared at his crime scene this morning." 

Willow began to ask Nick about Warrick's meeting with Buffy when the sound of a beeper interrupted.

They both looked down at their waists to see which beeper was buzzing.

"It's me." Willow said with a sigh. "Sorry, I'll be right back."

Nick watched as Willow wound her way through the tables, into the lobby of the restaurant and out the front door. He turned back around to the windows to see if he could glimpse Willow. He found if he shifted his weight to the left and craned his neck a bit he could just see the outer edge of the parking lot where Willow stood.

Willow's back was to him but he read her body language. Whatever the news was, it wasn't good. Her shoulders had slumped a bit like a weight had been put on them and she nervously twisted a lock of hair as she talked.

He quickly sat back when he saw Willow close her cell phone and start back toward the lobby. 

Nick stood at Willow's entrance, "Everything okay?"

"I'm so sorry, but I have to go."

"That's all right. Where do you want me to drop you?"

CRAP! The fates were conspiring against her. First, her first case was turning out to be Hellmouth worthy. Second, Giles friend Ben had just shown up and third, Xander had driven her to work so now she had to rely on Nick.

"A friend's house if you don't mind."

"Nope, let's go."

A/N: Next part is the anticipated Science meets Supernatural.  :)


	8. Part 8

Part 8

Willow turned a bright smile at Nick as he pulled up in front of Xander's house, "Thanks for the almost breakfast and bringing me here."

Nick inwardly sighed. He'd hoped to be able to talk Willow into meeting him later for lunch, but it appeared he was getting the polite brush off. Not that a polite brush off ever stopped him before. "Willow, how about making the almost breakfast a lunch?"

"Rain check? I'm not sure how long I'll be."

He nodded, "Rain check."

Willow reached over and gave his arm a squeeze, "Thanks and I'll see you at work later tonight."

Nick watched as Willow stopped next to the driveway as a car pulled up. He idly observed as Willow greeted the driver, a man in his forties, and moved to help an older gentleman get out of the passenger side of the car. He narrowed his eyes as he watched the trio make their way to the door. The older gentleman looked familiar to Nick but he couldn't place where. He mentally shrugged and reached down to slip a CD in the player. A flash of white caught his eyes and he grabbed the piece of paper Catherine had given him earlier.

Damn! That's why that old guy looked familiar it was Benjamin McKim. Nick replayed the scene of Willow greeting him in his mind's eye. She hadn't seemed to know him but she was definitely friendly with the driver of the car. It wasn't like she was hiding a fugitive from justice but she was definitely hiding something.

Nick drove around the block and pulled his car behind the other one blocking its exit just to be on the safe side. He debated about half a minute about whether to call Catherine to meet him here but finally decided against it. Willow wasn't technically doing anything wrong and he didn't want to get her in trouble. 

He made his way up to the front door and rang the bell.

~~~~

Xander, Willow, Buffy and Giles all froze as Xander's doorbell rang. 

"Are… are you expecting anyone, Xander?" Giles asked as he handed Benjamin a glass of orange juice.

"Nope, I called in sick so no one on the crew is looking for me."

"I pulled an all-nighter last night and I'm off for two days, so no one at the precinct is expecting me. Besides they'd have no idea where I was."

Willow bit her lip and closed her eyes. NONONONONONONONO the fates COULD not be that cruel. 

Buffy noticed her friend's agitation, "Willow?"

Willow sighed, "I was with Nick when I received Giles' beep."

Buffy waggled her eyebrows at Willow and gave her the 'you are SO going to tell me about that' look. "Maybe you forgot something in his car and he's only returning it."

Willow snorted, "And just what are the odds of that happening?"

"Well someone better answer it before he gets suspicious."

Willow opened the door just as Nick rang a second time. "Nick! Hey! So, umm, did I forget something?"

"You could say that." Nick tried to look over her shoulder and into the room beyond but Willow had only opened the door just enough to squeeze through.

"Really? I can be so scatterbrained sometimes. What'd I forget?" Willow looked but didn't see Nick carrying anything.

"You forgot to tell me why you were meeting Benjamin McKim."

Willow debated the merits of losing her job for not telling anyone that she knew the whereabouts of Benjamin or telling Nick about the mystical side of Vegas and their cases.

Willow's decision was taken out of her hands when Buffy pulled open the door. 

"You may as well let him come in, Wills." Buffy had remembered the heartache she'd gone through keeping Riley in the dark about her Slayer activities. It had made it ten times worse when he'd found out about it accidentally and it wasn't like they were going to give away their Slayer Secrets, anyway. They would just tell him the mystical facts that pertained to the necklace.

Willow stepped aside and indicated that Nick should follow her into the house. With a half smile she turned to Nick.

"Nick Stokes, these are my friends Xander Harris and Rupert Giles." She pointed to the older gentlemen, "This is Rupert's friend, Benjamin McKim and this is Buffy Summers."

Nick smiled widely at Buffy, "Now I know why Warrick wouldn't shut up about you."

A faint tinge of pink stole across Buffy's cheeks and Willow raised her eyebrows at it. She gave Buffy her own version of the 'you are SO going to tell me about it' look.

Nick nodded to Willow's friends and sat in the chair that Xander indicated. 

Giles turned his attention to Willow's co-worker, "How much do you know about the case involving Benjamin?"

"Only that he's wanted for questioning about the Pawn Shop burglary. Not as a suspect but as a possible witness."

Benjamin stiffened. "I wasn't even there when it was robbed."

Nick turned calm eyes toward him, "No, but you're a frequent customer."

Benjamin's shoulders slumped as Giles gave them a reassuring squeeze. 

"Something of Mr. McKim's was stolen that night but it's not listed on the list of items stolen given to the police."

Nick sat at attention with that little bit of information.

Buffy took over for Giles, "Mr. McKim went to the Joker's Wild Pawn shop to retrieve a family heirloom but had been told the store was closed due to the recent robbery. He immediately contacted Giles as the heirloom was very valuable and certain people had shown an unhealthy interest in it. Giles later called me to see if I could find out any details regarding the heirloom.  I contacted Robbery and was able to access their database and saw his necklace was not listed on the list of possible stolen items."

Nick ran all that information through his mind but he still didn't understand why Benjamin didn't go to the police to report his necklace stolen OR why Willow's friends were gathered here.

"Okay, his necklace was not at the Pawn Shop nor was it listed as possibly stolen. I still don't understand why he didn't go to the police and why he went into hiding."

All eyes turned to Giles to gauge how much they should tell Nick. He gave a small nod to Willow who took a deep breath and continued for Buffy.

"Nick, do you believe in magick? Real magick, not the Siegfried and Roy type of magic."

Nick blinked at Willow's seemingly nonsequitur question. "Magic is fun, Willow but it's not real."

"Never rule anything out, Nick no matter how improbable. Just like spontaneous combusting elderly or vampire raves for teens… or an old family heirloom that is a key ingredient for a spell. It's used to suck the life force out of the victim and in turn prolong the wearer's life."


	9. Part 9

Part 9

Nick laughed, "very funny, Willow."  He looked at the serious faces surrounding him.  "You actually believe that magic is real?  Next you'll tell me that vampires are real."

Xander opened his mouth, but shut it again when Buffy elbowed him.

Willow took a calming breath before continuing.  Her heart was beating rapidly and her palms were beginning to sweat.  They were taking a big risk telling Nick the truth, her and Buffy more than the others.

"What made you decide to investigate vampires on your rave case?"

"It was vampires.  Well, not the Bela Legosi vampire but teens play-acting.  We're scientists, Willow.  We stick with the facts and let the evidence take us.  Sure we may make wild leaps in logic sometimes but all myth has a basis in fact."

"Exactly. So follow the evidence, Nick."

Nick held up his hand and ticked off the facts with his fingers. "One, we have a missing necklace."

"A missing necklace with a mythological history behind it. Those that believe it can prolong life at the cost of others."

Nick ignored Willow's addition. "Two, there are four homicides. Two gunshot related and two unknown."

"Two victims aged beyond their years with so far no scientific explanation."

"Gil's friend at the genetic think tank."  Nick countered Willow.

"What are the odds that two victims in a small geographic area have the exact genetic anomaly?"  Giles countered Nick.

"All right, I'll give you that they're still unknown. But that still doesn't prove your theory that the necklace caused the aging in the victims."

Willow debated about floating a pencil for him, but she really wasn't sure that it would convince the scientist in Nick. She was still an amateur when it came to magick.  Giles had been training her, but with Tara's death she had lost interest in going further with it.  

"No, it doesn't.  But the evidence doesn't disprove it either.  Nick, as a scientist we don't believe in coincidences.  We live in Vegas, what are the odds that there are two victims of mysterious aging?  What about the odds of a necklace known to have mystical life altering abilities also missing and connected, however nebulous, to the other cases?  It'd have to be like a million to one.  All I'm asking is that you keep an open mind."

Nick's eyes searched Willow's serious green ones and sighed.  "All right, I'll listen.  BUT, I won't guarantee I'll believe AND when this is over Mr. McKim will go to the precinct with Buffy to make a statement."

Willow's heart began to slowly resume its normal pace with Nick's agreement.  She smiled at him and resisted the urge to grab him into a relieved hug, "thanks."

Buffy slowly relaxed.  Nick held her and Willow's career in the palm of his hand.  Not that anyone would believe him if he went to their supervisors and said they thought magick was involved.  But they could be put on probation and maybe suspended from duty for not taking Benjamin to the police. Not so much Willow but her job with LVPD had been dangling on the precipice while Nick decided.

Giles squeezed Benjamin's shoulder in reassurance. "Agreed."

Benjamin took a deep, calming breath.  "The necklace has been in my family for years.  No one really remembers not having it.  It's believed that it once belonged to the god Osiris.  I'm not sure I believe that myself, however some of my ancestors did live in Egypt and they were not above keeping a little memento of their time there."

Xander leaned over to Buffy, "Grave Robbers?"

Benjamin smiled, "We prefer the term, Thieves of Time."

"So the necklace has god-like qualities?"  Nick tried to keep the disbelief out of his voice but he failed miserably.

The older man shook his head no, "the necklace itself has no value beyond that of an antiquity.  No, the true value is the spell combined with the necklace that will prolong the wearers life."  

Benjamin turned very wise eyes to Nick, "how old would you say I am?"

Nick mentally rolled his eyes.  Next, he was going to tell him he was hundreds of years old and the necklace was the reason.  That wasn't anything that could be proven anyway.  Did Willow really believe this stuff?

"Mid to late eighties."

Willow and the others watched curiously as Benjamin reached for his wallet and began looking through it.  He smiled as he found what he had been looking for.  

Curiosity compelled Nick to reach for the pictures that the older man held out to him.  They were black and white photographs of the pyramids of Egypt.  In one, there were three people standing at the entrance to the pyramid.  One of them bore a striking resemblance to Benjamin and he was dressed as a young upper class Englishman would have been in the late 1800s or early 1900s.

"This doesn't prove anything other than you bear a striking resemblance to a relative that lived along time ago.  Are you trying to tell me that this is you and that the necklace is like the Fountain of Youth? Anyone wearing it lives forever?"

Benjamin gave a sad smile, "Not the necklace and not forever.  As keepers of the necklace my family was given certain privileges, some say curse.  One of those is that our lives are tied to the power of the necklace. We age and die but at a tremendously slow rate as long as it remains in our family's possession. I was born just as the American Civil War came to its conclusion."

Nick digested the information.  Not that he really believed it but he could tell that the old man believed it.  "Okay. Say I believe you or at least that you believe what you say it true.  Besides everyone in this room and your family who else knew about its 'magickal properties'?  Buffy said that there was interest lately in your necklace?"

The older man nodded, "yes, I received a note from the owner of the pawn shop that there was an interest in my necklace.  I'm a good customer and he wanted to give me warning that if I couldn't get it out of hock he'd have to sell it."

Nick, Buffy and Willow sat up straighter at this bit of information.  "Did he give you a name?"  Buffy asked.

Benjamin concentrated and then his eyes widened at the memory.  "Yes.  I believe it was Geoff Daisani."

Giles turned to his friend, "Are you quite certain it was Geoff Daisani?"

"With my memory I'm as certain as I can be.  Why, Rupert?"

"Mr. Daisani owns an occult shop on the other side of Vegas."

"Did."

All eyes turned to Willow and her shoulders slumped.

"Did own an occult shop.  He was the latest victim."

"Oh dear lord."


	10. Part 10

Part 10

Giles stood abruptly and began to pace as his mind whirled with thoughts. Willow's disclosure of Geoff Daisani's death had sent ideas and thoughts tumbling over each other. Was Daisani an innocent victim in this? Did he just want to get a very well known artifact in the occult world for his shop? Was he a go-between for a buyer that would stop at nothing to get what he wanted?

Buffy's mind reeled with all the implications. She turned to Giles, "how well did you know Daisani?" 

God, she needed to make sure that Giles wouldn't be a suspect in his death. That would be all they needed but as the only other "reputable" occult shop in the Las Vegas area she knew that he would be top of the list of suspects. Buffy wouldn't be assigned the case since it would be a conflict of interest and she was too new to the force to have any contacts she could trust that would give her the information. She never thought she'd miss the days of Sunnydale when Giles would point out the big bad and she would slay. No muss, no fuss.

"N-not very well, actually. I mean I knew him peripherally and I'd met him at some of the auction houses but that's all. Why?"

Buffy's eyes strayed over to Nick and then back at Giles, silently letting him know that she'd tell all later. "Just crossing you off as a potential suspect."

Xander stiffened his spine at Buffy's response. He knew that she was only doing her job but that didn't mean he had to like it.

Nick watched, with interest, the interaction among Willow's friends. He hadn't missed the subtle glance his way that Buffy had given Rupert Giles. He knew they were holding back because of his presence there but there was no way he was going to leave.

Buffy turned her attention to Willow. "Has a cause of death been determined?"  She hoped it was due to anything besides the necklace but she didn't hold out much hope.

Willow's eyes flickered over to Nick. It wasn't really compromising the case as the next of kin had been notified but she couldn't be as open as she would have been without Nick's presence.

"The cause of death is UNKNOWN." She hoped that her emphasis on the last word would get the message across.

Nick rolled his eyes. There they went again with the evil mystic mojo terrorizing Vegas. Sure there were unsolved cases gathering dust back in the forensic files but that didn't mean they had a mystical explanation. These latest cases were just one of many that would remain unknown no matter how much Willow or her friends might think otherwise.

"Look, unless the necklace was used to strangle the victims I really don't see it as a murder weapon." Nick held up his hand to stop Xander's interruption. "I'll leave the 'evil magic' theories to you, I'm only interested in where the evidence lies and so far nothing you've said has convinced me that it lies in the supernatural. I will concede that the missing necklace plays a part but only in that it seems to be the motivating factor in some of the victims' deaths."

Nick looked at each of the occupants of the room before letting his eyes linger on Willow. "I do agree that it looks as if most of the cases are connected and that the one common denominator seems to be the necklace. Gris probably has a warrant by now to search Daisani's occult shop. I'm guessing he's already pieced together that there is a common factor just not what that factor is. I think it's time to bring him in on your 'theories'." 

Willow's shoulders slumped in defeat. She knew that Nick was right but she REALLY wasn't looking forward to that conversation at all. Not that she would tell Grissom about the supernatural aspects with the necklace… that bit of information was going to stay with the Scoobies. She'd learned her lesson with this whole revealing to Nick fiasco. She was going to take a page out of Buffy's life… her "Slayerette" duties and her forensic duties would be separate but equal.

"I wonder if I set a record for the shortest career in forensics."

Nick placed his hand on Willow's arm, "Okay, I'm confused. It's okay to tell me but you'd quit before you'd tell Gris?"

"Quit? Nope, but I'm thinking he'll probably fire me."

"Willow, Gris isn't going to fire you. He's had some strange theories himself and it's not like you've broken any laws. Bent a few but we've all done that at some point in our careers. You'll probably have to listen through one of his speeches where he tries to teach a lesson but it just leaves you scratching your head."

Xander smiled, "piece of cake, she's used to those from Giles."

A small smile flitted at the corner of Willow's lips. Leave it to Xander to try to lighten the atmosphere. "Xander, can I borrow your car since mine's still at home?"

"Sure." 

Nick interrupted Xander before he could toss Willow his keys. "My car is right outside, I can take you to see Gris and then drop you off. Besides I'm collecting on the rain check."

Willow's eyes widened. He still wanted to have lunch with her, even after all that he'd heard? Maybe it hadn't turned out to be a fiasco after all.

Buffy's eyes flitted between Nick's smile and Willow's blush. She was SO going to get the scoop on what the rain check meant. "Okay. I guess that means I take you guys to the precinct as promised."

Giles nodded reluctantly before tuning to Xander, "would you mind doing a few things at the store for me while I'm gone?"  
  


Xander's brow wrinkled at the odd tone in Giles' voice. "Sure, Giles."

"Right then." Giles looked around for a pencil and paper to make a list for Xander. "There's not much but I'd really appreciate anything that you can do."

Xander looked down at the piece of paper that Giles had just handed him. There were a list of spell ingredients and a note that said to check the demon black market. A slow smile spread across his features as he realized that Giles was up to something. "Consider it done."


End file.
